Friday, July 15, 2011

Something weird has happened after getting published, I'm afraid of the next time that I do. I know that is weird but it is what is going on in my mind all the time. I mean on one side I can't wait to see my name on the cover of a book or once again in the table of contents of an anthology. Then there is that part of me that wonders if the first time I was, wasn't some kind of mistake. Sure the story has gotten some good reviews but is that just because the story can touch home or is it because it is written well?

See the weird thing is, and I am going to come off sounding like a cocky dick here, I know I can tell a story. There have been far to many people in my life tell me that I come up with some awesome ideas. So I don't worry so much about the story as I do the way that it's told. I can't help but think the one thing I have published could have been written better. It more like, I don't know, I reread it after I received the hard copy. There just seemed like there should have been more there. That something was missing. To me it might lend itself to the lack of grammatical skills I have.

Maybe it's an writer thing, I've heard tails of writers never being finished with their stories. The problem there is all stories must come to an end. I understand that, but even as a child I could not except such a fact. The credits would roll and I was always wondering what was to happen next.

Some people have told me that I just need to shut up and be happy I was even published. Trust me I am very happy, should I post the pictures of the day I got the hard copy in the mail? I'm not trying to nitpick, I'm just terrified that this dream I have had all my life will come crashing down right as I get started. See the thing most people don't know is that writing used to be a secret passion. I might have said it on here before in which case I guess anyone that read it knows. See for one reason or another when I was young I could not admit that I enjoyed something or wanted to do something. Still like that now, so to admit and work at writing only to fail is extra scary.

I'm not looking for fame here. If I happen to get that then wonderful, but I'd be just fine being that guy that puts out books you may or may not know. Oh and make a bit of a living off it. That's all.

What I do know is that this fear is keeping me from doing what I want to do. I have started on so many projects only to pass working on them out of fear. What if I put all that time into it and it sucks? It just seems this fear should be gone. It seems like getting published should have been that kick in the balls that told me that I can do this.

So I think the main thing is my education, so I am going to go back to school. Take a writing class better my grammar and write something so kick ass it might just kill me. I'm sure that will be what will remove that fear I have. At least I hope it does. There is always the fact it could be a writers thing.

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Hello again my good friends. Why am I in such a good mood? Well I've decided to let you all in on a little secret, the secret many "writers" don't want you to know because if normal folks like you even knew one part of it you'd out write them in a heart beat. But first you must give me some money, you know make an investment so that you can make more money. But first before you give me your money, don’t give your money to me or anyone else that will tell you that they can help you get published.

Alright so even though I have only been published once and no idea if the book I have sent out will ever see print, people still ask me what is my secret. Truth is I don't think people want to know the real answer. Because the real answer is the most obvious and yet the one that requires the most work.

Why is it that most people seem to not want to hear the truth? You’ll find this in other places and not just in writing. Everywhere there is a simple answer people want something even simpler. On a grand scale people think that everyone has a secret for what they do, love, work and play. Fact is if you want to know how to be a good lover, you need to love, to be a good worker, you need to work and to play, you need to play. It takes time to do things right and that’s why to become a better writer, you guessed it you need to write.

I’m not the one that should be getting asked these types of questions, I have only one little story published. So, if people are still going to ask, I have to tell them what I know. Even big name writers will tell you the same thing, write more if you want to be a good writer. I bring this up, because more often or not when I tell people it’s just that simple, they will then point out that I am just starting out myself and they really should have asked someone else.

So instead people will turn to crappy writing programs and spend lots of money to do something they are already doing for free. I don’t know if they fully understand how hard this simple answer really is. Like I pointed out, it’s the same as every thing else in life, you must do to get better at it.

I think maybe they think there is more to the issue then just doing what they need to be doing. Maybe it’s a way so they can fool themselves into thinking that they are working on doing something with no intention of doing it. Kind of like someone who will ask you if you need help, and they really don’t plan on helping you. It’s more or less just a way so they can say they offered. I feel a lot of people who ask about the secret of writing don’t really want to write, they just want to make it seem like they want to. Make it seem like they tried. I hope none of you reading this are like that, but if you are, you might just need to find something else.

Then there are people who think everything is done with hard work. Writing is harder then most people will think and all it is, is just putting words to the page. But you work your mind in such a way, you can walk away from a computer feeling as if you ran a few miles. I don’t know how it works that way but it does. Maybe it comes from putting all the emotions into it, I really don’t know.

So there you have it and maybe even have your money in your pockets. So don’t run out spending lots of money on how to write. Writing is writing. I also would say don’t spend much on becoming a better organized writer. I’d say reading, Stephen King’s, On Writing, is a very good book to help you. It will tell you how to find your voice and how to sit down and work on writing, by writing.